


and the record won't stop skipping

by orphan_account



Category: Fall Out Boy
Genre: Angst, M/M, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 12:45:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14261274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: and the lies just won't stop slipping





	and the record won't stop skipping

**Author's Note:**

> i'm orphaning this immediately, sorry, and if you somehow figure out who i am, please don't say anything to me about this. i just needed to vent. thanks for understanding.

Joe doesn’t know. Well, okay, he  _ does,  _ but he only knows it in the past tense, not in the, “Hey, guess what I did last night,” way that Pete’s familiar with. And Pete wants to keep it that way, except… sometimes he doesn’t.

Sometimes, it’s the day after, and the scrape of his jeans hurts and Pete wants to curl up into Joe’s arms and have him  _ know.  _ But the moral of the story is that Joe just fucking doesn’t.

Until he does.

It’s been two days since the last time, and Pete’s been slowly rising out of his funk, feeling better for what’ll probably end up being only a few days. In fact, he’s feeling well enough to make out with Joe. That’s his mistake.

Joe’s hands slowly wander down Pete’s body and into the front of his jeans and - 

“Shit,” Pete gasps out, wincing a little as Joe’s hands brush against the still irritated cuts, and  _ fuck.  _ He can’t pass that off as a moan.

“Pete?” Joe pulls back immediately, forehead creasing with worry. “Are you okay? You sounded like you were hurt.”

Pete slides back on the bed a little involuntarily; he uses one shaking hand to try and refasten the button of his jeans and the other to press against the front of his thigh, right above the cuts, like he’s trying to shield them from Joe’s eyes. “I-I’m fine,” he says quickly. “Sorry, I just-”

Joe’s eyes narrow a little, and he gently reaches for the hand that Pete’s holding over the cuts. “Babe, c’mere, are you hiding something? What’s wrong?”   
  
“Nothing,” Pete forces out. The air in the hotel room feels thick, like it’s suffocating him, and he feels cornered. “I’m fine, okay?”   
  
“Hey, it’s okay, babe, just breathe for me,” Joe says, seeing that Pete’s about to reach panic attack levels. “Hey, hey, we’re okay. It’s okay. Can I see what you’re hiding, though? Or can you at least tell me?”   
  
Pete shakes his head. He wants to try and speak but it’s like his throat has closed up. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Joe soothes. “It’s okay. Can I hug you?”   
  
Pete nods, and when Joe carefully pulls him into his arms, Pete clings to him like he’s the only solid thing on Earth. Joe holds him for a few minutes, until Pete starts hyperventilating, and then he slowly sits back and looks his boyfriend in the eye. 

“Can you talk now? Or show me?” Joe asks. “I’m not trying to pressure you into anything, Pete, it’s okay if you can’t.”

Pete inhales shakily and pulls at the right leg of his jeans, moving the fabric up so that one of the factory-made rips frames the cuts on his thigh, keeping his gaze on the bedspread he’s sitting on. 

“Oh, Pete,” Joe breathes. “It’s okay, babe, it’ll be okay. I’m not mad or anything, alright? Just breathe for me. We’ll sort this out.” He leans forward and pulls Pete in for another hug, and Pete clings to him once more after aggressively yanking his jeans back down.

“‘M sorry,” mumbles Pete. “I-”

“Shh, it’s okay. You don’t have to apologize, hon, it’s okay.”

Pete just buries his face into the crook of Joe’s neck and breathes, choppy inhales and exhales that sound like he’s crying, and Joe presses a kiss to the top of Pete’s head and holds him. They’ll get through this together.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading. stay safe.


End file.
